Holiday Cupcakes

Who is ready for the holidays? I’m almost there. The dinner menu is set—dessert will be these Vanilla Almond Cupcakes you see here. They are so fun and festive, right?

The gold cups easily dress up any cupcakes, and those glittered antlers make the perfect holiday statement. But beyond being eye-catching, the cupcakes are just sweet enough for dessert but not overwhelming after a big holiday meal.

In fact, they are one of my more pared down cupcakes in terms of visual finishes. But the flavor—the flavor—I added almond paste to the vanilla cupcake base. I love it, when small and simple tweaks can transform a classic. I may never make regular vanilla cupcakes again.

Speaking of transforming classics, I partnered with KitchenAid to test out their newKitchenAid® Artisan® Mini Stand Mixer. I’m excited to share that this new smaller but mighty version is awesome. The 3.5 quart bowl easily turned out this 18-20 cupcake recipe and can readily handle 5 dozen cookies. Best part of the Artisan mini it’s 25% smaller, 20% lighter, just as powerful and fits all the attachments of the bigger Artisan.

Now that you are in the know about the mighty awesomeness of the Artisan® Mini Stand mixer, head over to my Instagram where I am hosting a giveaway for this very mixer!

**This post is in collaboration with KitchenAid. They kindly provided a product for this recipe. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Holiday Cupcakes

Yield: Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

21/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

3.5 oz. almond paste

¾ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup whole milk

For the buttercream

6 cups confectioners’ sugar

11/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 tablespoons milk, plus more if needed

1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preparation heat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with foil or paper liners.

To make the cupcakes: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

Add sugar and almond paste into a food processor or blender and process until mixture resembles wet sand.

In a stand mixer bowl, fitted with a paddle attachment, add butter and sugar-almond paste mixture, beat on low until mixture comes together. Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. On low speed, beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, followed by the vanilla. Beating on low speed, starting and ending with the flour, alternately add the flour and milk, beating just until combined.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three quarters of the way full. Bake until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make buttercream: In a stand mixer bowl, fitted with a paddle attachment combine the confectioners’ sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, almond extract and salt, beat on low until just combined. Increase speed to high beat until light and fluffy. If the frosting is dry, add 1 teaspoon of milk at a time to reach the desired consistency.

To assemble: Transfer buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton 1M tip. Pipe frosting on top of cupcake.

A mini-stand mixer?? Now THAT is something I need to add to my wish list! Too bad I already sent my letter to the North Pole… 😉 And you always look so cute in your photos Naomi!! I don’t know HOW you manage to stay so slim and trim with all of these amazing recipes you post, like these gorgeous cupcakes — I’d be the size of a whale! ? Merry Christmas, sweet friend!

Photos are very enticing. I really want to make this holiday cupcakes together with my kids. These are gorgeous cupcakes.

About Naomi Robinson

Welcome to my cozy corner where baking meets random thoughts and musings. I’m a self-taught baker sharing all things sweet (and some savory—okay, and cocktails) with a whisk in one hand and a camera in the other.